I haven't read The Great Gatsby since I was a junior in high school, so I was relatively unaffected when it was announced that Hollywood was working on the latest adaption of the book.
My interest in the movie was peaked when I learned Baz Luhrmann would direct, and Leonardo DiCaprio would star as Gatsby. Luhrmann has a highly stylized method of filmmaking, which is visually dazzling. Example: Romeo & Juliet or Moulin Rouge. Need I say anything about DiCaprio's acting abilities?
Then came news that Blake Lively was in the running to be Daisy Buchanan. F. Scott Fitzgerald has been dead for 70 years, and he must be insulted that she was even being considered. She's an attractive actress, but hardly skilled enough to match DiCaprio, or do justice to a script that requires more than whining and pouting her lips.
The cinema gods clearly did not stand for that nonsense. Today Luhrmann announced on Deadline that Carey Mulligan would be his Daisy Buchanan. At the top of the post is a photo of Mulligan during her screen test for Gatsby.
I have been rooting for Mulligan since I saw An Education when it opened last year. It was heartbreaking to watch her lose an Oscar to Sandra Bullock with a southern accent. This year she was in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps and Never Let Me Go. She's always gracious during interviews and polished on the red carpet. She doesn't seek out media attention the way other starlets do.
Let all film geeks celebrate that this news means there is still hope out there, and not every movie must involve Megan Fox and director Michael Bay.
